UN says 1.1 million newly displaced in Syria since offensive that toppled Assad

The United Nations humanitarian agency said Thursday that more than a million people, mostly women and children, had been newly displaced in Syria since rebels launched an offensive ousting President Bashar al-Assad.

“As of 12 December, 1.1 million people have been newly displaced across the country since the start of the escalation of hostilities on 27 November. The majority are women and children,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.